France and allies announce ban on Israel’s Smotrich
France has barred Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, together with four leaders of settler organisations, and 21 violent settlers, from entering the country.
In a statement on X on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that France is imposing new sanctions “against those responsible for intensifying colonisation and violence in the occupied West Bank,” in a parallel move by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway.
“Bezalel Smotrich is actively promoting the annexation of the West Bank, which he openly advocates, the establishment of new settlements in the West Bank, the recolonisation of Gaza, and the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority, along with its devastating consequences for the Palestinian population,” he added.
“This is a policy that the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.”
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is surrounded by Israeli settlers at a "resettlement" ceremony of Sa-Nur, south of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on 19 April 2026 (AFP)